Leah Bracha bas Shoshana Batya underwent surgery after being wounded in the terrorist attack in Yerushalayim prayers this week only.

On a lighter note: One of the officers of the Synagogue summed up Purim: "Officer, I swear to drunk that I am not Gcd."

A word about Sefer Vayikra: In Beresheis we had 3 Mitzvos and in Shemos 111. Sofar with the Korbanos we have gotten up to 147 Mitzvos in total as we start off this week’s Parsha. The whole Torah as 613 Mitzvos and sofar less than 25% and we are almost half way through. However, we are about to see a great change coming over us in the next few weeks Shemini contains 17 Mitzvos, Tazria 7, Metzora 11, Acharei Mos 26, which places us past half the Torah in words, letters and Pasukim and yet at this point only 208 Mitzvos far from 306 or 307 to be half the Mitzvos. Suddenly Kedoshim has 51, Emor 63 which places us back to where we should approximately be with now 322 Mitzvos and a little over half the Torah. The Sefer concludes with Behar 24 Mitzvos and Bechukotai 12 Mitzvos which leaves us with 358. In Sefer Bamidbar we have less than average Mitzvos again but rounded off with Sefer Devarim. So in the next few weeks, I will be skimming past a lot of Mitzvos but that does not prevent the reader from going into each one in more detail.

Parsha Shemini

9:1 And it came to pass on the eighth day,

Of the installation. That [was] Rosh Chodesh Nissan, that very day on which the Tabernacle was set up, and it [=that day] took [the] ten crowns which are taught in Seder Olam.

that Moses called Aaron and his sons, and the elders of Israel;

to announce to them that [it was] by Divine command [that] Aaron entered [the Tabernacle] and served in the high priesthood, that they not say that he had entered into it on his own authority

This is basically the changing of the guard from Moshe being both Prophet, Priest and King to Aaron and sons getting the Eternal Kahuna and Moshe returning to being a member of the tribe of Levi.

2 and he said unto Aaron: 'Take thee a bull-calf for a sin-offering,

To let [Aaron] know that G-d forgave him by means of this calf for the deed of the [Golden] Calf which he had made

For the L-RD reads Kidneys, Hearts and Minds of men as written in the Yom Kippur Liturgy and therefore Aaron was dealing in mob control and keeping the Nation in order – Shalom Beis and not Avoda Zara. For clearly he did not want to do this and Hur lost his life on a Kiddush HASHEM trying to stop the Golden Calf.(Literally “over my dead body”)

and a ram for a burnt-offering, without blemish, and offer them before the LORD.

Not to duplicate Kayn’s mistake we check the Korbanos thoroughly for blemishes.

3 And unto the children of Israel thou shalt speak, saying: Take ye a he-goat for a sin-offering; and a calf and a lamb, both of the first year, without blemish, for a burnt-offering;

A male goat was considered by the Nations of the world as a sex-symbol such as Satyrs etc. So this Korban had an extra meaning.

4 and an ox and a ram for peace-offerings, to sacrifice before the LORD; and a meal-offering mingled with oil; for to-day the LORD appears unto you.’ 5 And they brought that which Moses commanded before the tent of meeting; and all the congregation drew near and stood before the LORD. 6 And Moses said: ‘This is the thing which the LORD commanded that ye should do; that the glory of the LORD may appear unto you.’ 7 And Moses said unto Aaron: ‘Draw near unto the altar, and offer thy sin-offering, and thy burnt-offering, and make atonement for thyself, and for the people; and present the offering of the people, and make atonement for them; as the LORD commanded.’

[It was because] Aharon was ashamed and afraid to approach. Moshe said to him: Why are you ashamed? [It was] for this that you were chosen!

8 So Aaron drew near unto the altar, and slew the calf of the sin-offering, which was for himself.

With trepidation and encouragement by Moshe he then began offering all the Korbanos Chatas.

9 And the sons of Aaron presented the blood unto him; and he dipped his finger in the blood, and put it upon the horns of the altar, and poured out the blood at the base of the altar.

The other Cohanim were busy with the slaughtering of the animals and the placing of the hands on the animals. They would chant “For the sake of the Korban Chatas al Ha Mizbayach”.

10 But the fat, and the kidneys, and the lobe of the liver of the sin-offering, he made smoke upon the altar; as the LORD commanded Moses. 11 And the flesh and the skin were burnt with fire without the camp.

We do not find an "outer" sin-offering that is burned except this [one] and that of the installation, and all of them by Divine command.

12 And he slew the burnt-offering; and Aaron’s sons delivered unto him the blood, and he dashed it against the altar round about. …

10:1 And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took each of them his censer, and put fire therein, and laid incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them. 2 And there came forth fire from before the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.

Regarding this the standard Rabbinical explanation is that the two Cohanim drank wine to learn the secrets [NICKNAS YAYIN YOTZE SOD for the Gematria of Yayin (wine) is 70 and the Gematria of Sod (as in soda) is 70]. Being drunk in the Holy of Holies that perhaps they looked at the Shechina and died and one cannot neglect this explanation. Other possibilities that I have thought about is that offering up the strange fire caused them to get drunk. There are two hints in the Talmud to something else. 1) They were perfumed with persimmon oil which is easily ignited (Tractate Shabbos). 2) In the Ein Kalokaynu prayer on Shabbos we are warned against using honey in Incense for “no human could stand before it”.3) It is also possible that it was a combination of all three. They were extra Frum and they probably wanted to get into the secret of secrets in the Holy of Holies and perhaps they perfumed themselves before the L-RD to smell nice and added honey for an extra sweet savior before the L-RD.

Chapter 11 is very important for the laws of Kashrus and is self-explanatory therefore I leave the section below as a review for all. This is on the simple level. The Tractate Chullin has pages of commentaries of the signs for the birds and fish and traditions about the animals.

11:1 And the LORD spoke unto Moses and to Aaron, saying unto them: 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying: These are the living things which ye may eat among all the beasts that are on the earth. 3 Whatsoever parts the hoof, and is wholly cloven-footed, and chews the cud, among the beasts, that may ye eat. 4 Nevertheless these shall ye not eat of them that only chew the cud, or of them that only part the hoof: the camel, because he chews the cud but parts not the hoof, he is unclean unto you. 5 And the rock-badger, because he chews the cud but parts not the hoof, he is unclean unto you. 6 And the hare, because she chews the cud but parts not the hoof, she is unclean unto you. 7 And the swine, because he parts the hoof, and is cloven-footed, but chews not the cud, he is unclean unto you.

Out of all the species of animals in the world on all the continents, the only animal meeting this definition is the big. You can note that pigs stretch out their cloven feet forward. This is the real natures of the Yetzer Hara to make things look kosher that are not.

8 Of their flesh ye shall not eat, and their carcasses ye shall not touch; they are unclean unto you. 9 These may ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them may ye eat. 10 And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that swarm in the waters, and of all the living creatures that are in the waters, they are a detestable thing unto you, 11 and they shall be a detestable thing unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, and their carcasses ye shall have in detestation. 12 Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that is a detestable thing unto you. 13 And these ye shall have in detestation among the fowls; they shall not be eaten, they are a detestable thing: the great vulture, and the bearded vulture, and the osprey; 14 and the kite, and the falcon after its kinds; 15 every raven after its kinds; 16 and the ostrich, and the night-hawk, and the sea-mew, and the hawk after its kinds; 17 and the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl; 18 and the horned owl, and the pelican, and the carrion-vulture; 19 and the stork, and the heron after its kinds, and the hoopoe, and the bat. 20 All winged swarming things that go upon all fours are a detestable thing unto you. 21 Yet these may ye eat of all winged swarming things that go upon all fours, which have jointed legs above their feet, wherewith to leap upon the earth; 22 even these of them ye may eat: the locust after its kinds, and the bald locust after its kinds, and the cricket after its kinds, and the grasshopper after its kinds. 23 But all winged swarming things, which have four feet, are a detestable thing unto you. 24 And by these ye shall become unclean; whosoever touches the carcass of them shall be unclean until even. 25 And whosoever bears aught of the carcass of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even. 26 Every beast which parts the hoof, but is not cloven footed, nor chews the cud, is unclean unto you; every one that touches them shall be unclean. 27 And whatsoever goes upon its paws, among all beasts that go on all fours, they are unclean unto you; whoso touches their carcass shall be unclean until the even. 28 And he that bears the carcass of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even; they are unclean unto you. 29 And these are they which are unclean unto you among the swarming things that swarm upon the earth: the weasel, and the mouse, and the great lizard after its kinds, 30 and the gecko, and the land-crocodile, and the lizard, and the sand-lizard, and the chameleon. 31 These are they which are unclean to you among all that swarm; whosoever doth touch them, when they are dead, shall be unclean until the even. 32 And upon whatsoever any of them, when they are dead, doth fall, it shall be unclean; whether it be any vessel of wood, or raiment, or skin, or sack, whatsoever vessel it be, wherewith any work is done, it must be put into water, and it shall be unclean until the even; then shall it be clean. 33 And every earthen vessel where into any of them fall, whatsoever is in it shall be unclean, and it ye shall break. 34 All food therein which may be eaten, that on which water cometh, shall be unclean; and all drink in every such vessel that may be drunk shall be unclean. 35 And everything whereupon any part of their carcass falls shall be unclean; whether oven, or range for pots, it shall be broken in pieces; they are unclean, and shall be unclean unto you. 36 Nevertheless a fountain or a cistern wherein is a gathering of water shall be clean; but he who touches their carcass shall be unclean. 37 And if aught of their carcass fall upon any sowing seed which is to be sown, it is clean. 38 But if water be put upon the seed, and aught of their carcass fall thereon, it is unclean unto you. {S} 39 And if any beast, of which ye may eat, die, he that touches the carcass thereof shall be unclean until the even. 40 And he that eats of the carcass of it shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even; he also that bears the carcass of it shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even. 41 And every swarming thing that swarms upon the earth is a detestable thing; it shall not be eaten. 42 Whatsoever goes upon the belly, and whatsoever goes upon all fours, or whatsoever hath many feet, even all swarming things that swarm upon the earth, them ye shall not eat; for they are detestable things. 43 Ye shall not make yourselves detestable with any swarming thing that swarms, neither shall ye make yourselves unclean with them, that ye should be defiled thereby. 44 For I am the LORD your God; sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy; for I am holy; neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of swarming thing that moves upon the earth. 45 For I am the LORD that brought you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God; ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy. 46 This is the law of the beast, and of the fowl, and of every living creature that moves in the waters, and of every creature that swarms upon the earth; 47 to make a difference between the unclean and the clean, and between the living thing that may be eaten and the living thing that may not be eaten.

The commentary is shorter this week and for the next weeks as it is more important to review the laws of Pessach.

Parsha Parah

This is the third of the four Parshiyos. Bamidbar 19:1 And the LORD spoke unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying: 2 This is the statute of the law which the LORD hath commanded, saying: Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring thee a red heifer, faultless, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke. … 22

The Talmud tells us how to inspect the Parah Aduma. We check that there are not two black hairs. Only 9 have been found unto this day and the 10th in the days of the Moshiach. She purifies the people who have been defiled by the dead but those who offer her up become Tumay until the evening when they must bathe in the Mikvah. This Parsha is read at this time due to

3 And ye shall give her unto Eleazar the priest, and she shall be brought forth without the camp, and she shall be slain before his face. 4 And Eleazar the priest shall take of her blood with his finger, and sprinkle of her blood toward the front of the tent of meeting seven times. … 21 And it shall be a perpetual statute unto them; and he that sprinkles the water of sprinkling shall wash his clothes; and he that touches the water of sprinkling shall be unclean until even. 22 And whatsoever the unclean person touches shall be unclean; and the soul that touches him shall be unclean until even.

Halachos from Danny Shoemann

On Purim one adds עַל הַנִּסִּים to the Birkas Hamazon during the 2nd Bracha. If you forgot to add עַל הַנִּסִּים and you’ve already said ‘ברוך אתה ה then you don’t have to make amends. However, if possible you should say the following during the HaRachaman’s after the 4th Bracha:הָרַחֲמָן הוּא יַעֲשֶׂה לָנוּ נִסִּים וְנִפְלָאוֹת כְּמוֹ שֶׁעָשָׂה לַאֲבוֹתֵינוּ בַּיָּמִים הַהֵם בַּזְּמַן הַזֶּה בִּימֵי מרדכיand then continue with the rest of the עַל הַנִּסִּים. During every Amida of Purim one adds עַל הַנִּסִּים during Modim. If you forgot to add עַל הַנִּסִּים and you’ve already said ‘ברוך אתה ה then you don’t have to make amends. Source: Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 44:16, 139: 21

The laws of Pessach in Shulchan Aruch begin with: "One should start learning the laws of Pessach thirty days before Pessach." This is learned from the fact that Moshe Rabbaynu started teaching the laws of Pessach-Shemini on Erev Pessach.Starting 30 days beforehand is especially important for Pessach, where - as opposed to other Chagim - certain things have to be done before the Chag, like destroying all Chametz and having Kosher L'Pessach food.Source: Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 429:1

Matza is made from flour and water. Nothing else. The water is drawn from a well or spring the night before it is used. The water for Sunday's baking is drawn on Thursday night. The flour is ground from wheat that was harvested while still slightly green; once wheat is fully ripe it can become Chametz (leaven) even before being harvested, if it comes into contact with water. The wheat needs to be ground into flour at least 24 hours before it is used, to give it time to cool down.18 minutes after water is added to flour, the dough becomes Chametz. Matza baking happens in 18-minute batches after which all equipment is thoroughly cleaned to remove all traces of dough.Matza used at the Seder needs to be made with the intention of it being used for a Mitzva; everybody involved in its production says "L'shem Mitzvat Matza" (for the purpose of the Mitzva of Matza) before all activities. If a Matza has a fold in it, or a bubble more than a finger high (2.5 cm), then the fold or bubble are considered Chametz and need to be broken off and disposed of. The rest of the Matza can be eaten. One is forbidden to eat Matza on Erev Pessach. Most people have the custom to stop eating Matza from Rosh Chodesh Nissan already. Some don't eat Matza an entire month before Pessach.Source: Kitzur Shulchan Aruch: 108, 109, 110

This Shabbat a second Sefer Torah is taken out for Maftir and the laws of Para Aduma – the Red Heifer – are read. (The beginning of Parsha Chukat, Numbers 19:1-22) There are opinions that it’s a Torah obligation to hear it being read, and people who don’t have access to a Minyan should find one this week. A Kosher Para Aduma is a (female) cow past its second birthday that is completely ginger-brown. Even two white or black hairs near each other would invalidate it. The cow is slaughtered and burnt and the ashes mixed with spring water and sprinkled on people who come in contact with a corpse, on the third and seventh day of their purification process. This was a prerequisite for access to the Bet HaMikdash (Temple). Since there’s a Mitzva to go into the Beit HaMikdash on Pessach, we read this in anticipating of being able to implement it this year, or at least Bimhera Beyamainu – soon in our lifetime. Source: Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 140:2-3, Mishna Maseches Para, Ch. 1, Rambam Hil. Para Ch. 1 Shabbat Shalom - Danny

In 5767, I published first the following guide for the laws of the Seder. I published it originally just before Shabbos HaGadol but this year, 5761 Pessach falls on a Monday night.Which does not give one much time to prepare for the Seder. So there is nothing wrong with publishing before Rosh Chodesh Nissan to get people aware. And if you have not started real Pessach cleaning then start a room a day. The rugs should be cleaned with a rug cleaner and then rolled up before Pessach.(Assuming that some folks have wall to wall carpeting that cannot be rolled up then a rug cleaner like Sano rug sprayed on the rug and scrubbed and vacuumed will produce the following result. All Chametz will have been rendered void by the cleaner and the rest will be valueless as the dust of the earth and cancelled when one says “Kaul HaMirrah” (All leavening that …) I assume that I took this from a translation of the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch.

Chapter 107:1The Month of Nissan

1. Neither "Tachanun" (1) nor "Tziduk HaDin" (2) is recited throughout the entire month of Nissan (3). Similarly, "Tzidkos'cho Tzedek" is not recited in the afternoon service on Shabbos. Every day, from Rosh Chodesh Nissan onward, it is customary to read the paragraph in the Torah [Numbers, Chapter 7,] which corresponds to the prince ("nasi") of the tribe who had brought his offerings on that particular day of Nissan (4). On the thirteenth of Nissan, it is customary to read the beginning of the portion "Beha'aloscho" until the verse, "So he made the menorah," for this corresponds to the tribe of Levi.

FOOTNOTES:

(1) "Tachanun" is comprised of prayers of supplication, and is recited after the "Amidah" during the morning and afternoon service.

(2) A prayer recited at the cemetery during a funeral. .

(3) The month of Nissan is considered a time of joy because it is the month during which the Israelite nation was liberated from slavery in Egypt. It is also the month during which the "Mishkan" (the portable "temple" used while the Jews were travelling through the desert) was first erected and dedicated. "Tachanun" and "Tziduk HaDin" are not recited at times of joy (See Aruch HaShulchan 429:1-3)

(4) The "Mishkan" (see previous note) was erected on the first of Nissan, and on each of the first 12 days of Nissan during that year, a prince of a different tribe brought his offerings as part of the dedication of the Altar.

Chapter 107:2The Month of Nissan

2. We do not fast during [the month of Nissan] (1). This includes even a fast on the "Yahrzeit" ("anniversary") [of one's parents' death]. One may, however, fast because of a disturbing dream ("Ta'anis Chalom") (2). It is customary for the firstborn to fast on the eve of Pesach, as will be explained, with God's help, in Chapter 113. A bride and groom should fast [on the day of their wedding (3), during Nissan]. This applies even on Rosh Chodesh (4) Nissan.

FOOTNOTES:

(1) The month of Nissan is considered a time of joy because it is the month during which the Israelite nation was liberated from slavery in Egypt, and during which the "Mishkan" (the mobile "Temple" used while the Jews were travelling through the desert) was first erected and dedicated. Consequently, it became customary not to fast during Nissan.

(2) There are various criteria for determining whether one should fast over a disturbing dream, however, this is not the place to go into the details. The purpose of a fast is to arouse a person to analyze their life and repent for any misguided actions and attitudes.

(3) According to the Talmud, one's past transgressions are forgiven on one's wedding day. Therefore, since it is a personal "Day of Atonement," it is appropriate to respond to the opportunity through fasting and repentance. The couple fast until the wedding begins.

(4) In general, not even a bride and groom are allowed to fast on Rosh Chodesh (first day of the month), however, it is permitted on Rosh Chodesh Nissan because two of Aaron's sons (Nadav and Avihu) died on that day while the Jews were travelling in the desert. (Mishna Berura 573:9).

Chapter 107:3The Month of Nissan

3. On Shabbos HaGodol (lit: "the Great Shabbos," referring to the Shabbos before Pesach) (1) during Mincha, it is customary not to read the Psalm "Borchi Nafshi",but rather to read [the Haggadah from the words] "Avodim Hayinu" [until the conclusion of the passage beginning "Al achas kamoh v'chamoh,"] (2) because the redemption [from Egypt] and the miracles (3) began on Shabbos HaGodol.

FOOTNOTES:

(1) God commanded the Israelites in Egypt to designate, on the tenth of Nissan (five days before the Exodus), a male sheep for the Pesach offering (which was to be slaughtered on the afternoon of the 14th and eaten that night, the night of the Exodus). They tied the animal to their bedposts, and although the Egyptians worshipped the ram as a god and knew what the Jews were going to do with the animal, they miraculously did not try to stop them. That year, the 10th of Nissan was a Shabbos, and in commemoration of that miracle, we call the Shabbos before Pesach, "Shabbos HaGodol" (Tur 430).

(2) The Vilna Gaon did not agree with this custom and thus many people do not follow it.

Two non-Jewish near death experiences: In 2004, Kevin Malarkey and his 6-year-old, Alex, were involved in a horrific car accident. The impact of the crash on Alex caused what is medically termed an “internal decapitation – his skull was detached from his spinal column. Needless to say, with Alex in a coma, the prognosis for survival was not good.

When the accident occurred, the Internet spread the news of Alex’s condition. He was the focal point of prayer from around the world. Even people in Afghanistan were praying for him, according to letters received.

Two months later, Alex awoke with an incredible story to tell. He shared detailed recollections of the accident scene and the emergency room – neither of which he could have seen with earthly eyes. He talked about the music he heard in heaven – nothing like he had ever heard before. And he talked about his conversations with Jesus.

“The first thing I saw was the angels catch daddy,” said Alex. “The car hit us. I slammed into my seatbelt. Daddy flew out of the car and the angels caught him.”

When father Kevin first heard that story, he feared his son had brain damage from the collision.

“I really did, because I thought he was imagining things,” he said.

But it soon became clear Alex knew things she couldn’t have known from the five senses.

“He told me that he saw me go away in the ambulance, but I never told him I went away in an ambulance. Why would he think I was in an ambulance? Cause I didn’t have any injuries.”

Alex’s answer: “I was in heaven then.”

Alex recounts talking to a man from above as he watched fireman take his body out of the car and put him on a flat board. He recalls his dad screaming, “Alex, Alex, Alex,” making a phone call and talking to a man in a blue suit by the helicopter.

When his mother first heard the story, she corrected her son, suggesting the man was wearing an orange suit. But, after checking with the helicopter crew, they confirmed the man was in a blue suit.

Alex remains paralyzed, but his experience has left him positive and upbeat – assuring anyone and everyone that he will one day walk again.

“I asked him one time do you ever get sad?” said his father. “His response was ‘What do you mean?’ I said, I don’t know, do you ever get sad? He said, ‘Why would I be sad?’”

Alex was the first child ever to undergo a complex surgical procedure in which doctors replaced his ventilator with a breathing apparatus called a pacer.

“He was the first child that we ever implanted with a ventilator,” said Dr. Ray Onders. “Alex’s injury is really like a decapitation. When I looked at his X-rays, it almost looked like his entire head was removed from his spinal cord.”

The injury was not unlike the one suffered by actor Christopher Reeve. It was Dr. Onders who performed the surgery that got Reeve off the ventilator.

“The whole time I was there (heaven),” says Alex, “I was basically in God’s palace.”

Here’s his description of what he remembers: “When I arrived in heaven, I was inside the gate. The gate was really tall, and it was white. It was very shiny, and it looked like it had scales like a fish. I was in the inner heaven and everything was brighter and more intense on the inside of the gate. It was perfect. Perfect is my favorite word for describing heaven.”

But Alex was also cautioned, he says, not to relate some of what he saw and was told in heaven – not even to his father.

“We probably only know about 10 percent of what he knows,” said Kevin. “I think he is very protective about it.”

In the years since the 2004 accident, Alex has made remarkable progress. He can now stand for periods of time in a supportive frame and walk on a treadmill with assistance.

# # #

As for the other best-selling young author, Colton, his was the story of a wrongly diagnosed illness – a case of acute appendicitis and a badly ruptured appendix that went untreated for five days. Then the lifeless 4-year-old boy was rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery. When it was all over, Colton survived and recovered fully. But that was just the beginning of the amazing saga.

Four months later, Colton began telling his parents things he could not or should not have known. “Mom, I have two sisters,” he said. “You had a baby die in your tummy didn’t you?” Sonja, his Mom, was shocked. When she asked him who told him, he said, “She did Mommy, she said she died in your tummy.” Todd and Sonja had never told their son about the miscarriage Sonja had before Colton was born. Colton went on to tell his mom that she was a girl and, “she looked familiar and she started giving me hugs and she was glad to have someone in her family up there.”

Asked by his Dad about his hospital experience, Colton said: “You know, Dad, the angels sang to me while I was there.” Colton said that while on the operating table he went to heaven and that he met his great-grandfather Pop. Colton says his grandfather didn’t look like the man in the photo in his house, but instead looked like the man in the picture sent months later by his Grandmother, a young man without glasses.

Later he talked about Armageddon and how God told him his father would fight in the final battle. Although Todd was a pastor, he says he never talked detail like this with his preschool-aged son. After years of stories and new details, Todd’s friends and members of his church started asking him to write his stories down. They encouraged Todd to write a book, which wasn’t something he wanted to do or had any idea how to do. Now Colton’s stories of Heaven are documented in a book titled “Heaven is for Real.”

No blood please

Many years ago, I read the following story. I was reminded of it because last week we learned in the Chumash that one gets Kares from eating blood:

Once upon a time there was a Jewish Innkeeper in Poland. A Nobleman visited the Inn. Eggs were scarce in those days. He ordered breakfast with Eggs. He saw something strange happen though. The wife of the Innkeeper would break open the Eggs and put some into the frying pan and some aside to discard. The Nobleman asked why is this and the woman said “We are Jews and forbidden to eat any blood.” So the Nobleman said, “But I am a non-Jew, you could fry it for me.” She replied, “I am sorry and it is my loss but it would ruin the Kashrus of my frying pan.” So the Nobleman watched the woman in wonder and gained respect for the Jews.

Years later, he became governor of the province. A local Priest or Bishop had incited a mob at the time of the Passion for Easter that the Jews were going to kill a Christian Child for blood to bake their Matzos. A massive Pogrom was about to take place. The Governor heard what was about to happen and sent a garrison or two of soldiers into the Jewish Ghettos to defend the Jews from certain mayhem. He proclaimed in a letter that everybody should know that from the Torah Jews are forbidden to eat blood and this is a blood libel. The moral of the story is that a small Kiddush HASHEM can go a very long way!

Did you know Karl Marx was once a professing Christian? Karl’s father, Herschel Marx, but was economically and legally disadvantaged by being Jewish. For this reason he converted from Judaism to the Protestant Christian denomination of Lutheranism. Did you know the architect of communism later joined a satanic cult? Up until the last part: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Marx

Inyanay Diyoma

A number of years ago I was talking to my Chavrutha (learning partner) about the end of Egypt will be drowning again to the use of an A-Bomb on the Aswan Dam. Well at the time and for the next years things were quiet and time passed with a friendly Egypt but things are changing and we are about to face a belligerent Egypt with American Weapons and perhaps a Muslim President still in the White House.http://freedomtorch.com/forums/topic/4420/the-new-egypt-supports-attacks-o

Again and Again the west knows how to back the wrong side. Not that I like a murderer like Kaddafi but the alternative is worst and a bigger danger to the world. http://www.debka.com/article/20784/

I hope that France has an alternative via their intelligence service to Kaddafi otherwise we will see fanaticism of the Gog and Magog type and another Iran perhaps Sunni. Is it a bright Sunni or Shia day in your life? Jihad for all!!!

On Purim we learned that this idiot who brought the Muslims into Kosovo and Bosnia and removed Settlements moved downstairs.

What the US foreign policy fights regarding Egypt and Libya indicate is that currently, a discussion about how events impact core US regional interests is completely absent from the discussion.

The US’s new war against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi is the latest sign of its steady regional decline. In media interviews over the weekend, US military chief Adm. Michael Mullen was hard-pressed to explain either the goal of the military strikes in Libya or their strategic rationale.

Mullen’s difficulty explaining the purpose of this new war was indicative of the increasing irrationality of US foreign policy.

Traditionally, states have crafted their foreign policy to expand their wealth and bolster their national security. In this context, US foreign policy in the Middle East has traditionally been directed towards advancing three goals: Guaranteeing the free flow of inexpensive petroleum products from the Middle East to global market; strengthening regimes and governments that are in a position to advance this core US goal at the expense of US enemies; and fighting against regional forces like the pan-Arabists and the jihadists that advance a political program inherently hostile to US power.

Other competing interests have periodically interfered with US Middle East policy. And these have to greater or lesser degrees impaired the US’s ability to formulate and implement rational policies in the region.

These competing interests have included the desire to placate somewhat friendly Arab regimes that are stressed by or dominated by anti-US forces; a desire to foster good relations with Europe; and a desire to win the support of the US media.

Under the Obama administration, these competing interests have not merely influenced US policy in the Middle East. They have dominated it. Core American interests have been thrown to the wayside.

BEFORE CONSIDERING the deleterious impact this descent into strategic dementia has had on US interests, it is necessary to consider the motivations of the various sides to the foreign policy debate in the US today.

All of the sides have contributed to the fact that US Middle East policy is now firmly submerged in a morass of strategic insanity.

The first side in the debate is the anti-imperialist camp, represented by President Barack Obama himself. Since taking office, Obama has made clear that he views the US as an imperialist power on the world stage. As a result, the overarching goal of Obama’s foreign policy has been to end US global hegemony.

Obama looks to the UN as a vehicle for tethering the US superpower. He views US allies in the Middle East and around the world with suspicion because he feels that as US allies, they are complicit with US imperialism.

Given his view, Obama’s instincts dictate that he do nothing to advance the US’s core interests in the Middle East. Consider his policies towards Iran. The Iranian regime threatens all of the US’s core regional interests.

And yet, Obama has refused to lift a finger against the mullahs.

Operating under the assumption that US enemies are right to hate America due to its global hegemony, when the mullahs stole the 2009 presidential elections for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and then violently repressed the pro-Western opposition Green Movement, Obama sided with the mullahs.

Aside from its imperative to lash out at Israel, Obama’s ideological predisposition would permit him to happily sit on the sidelines and do nothing against US foe or friend alike. But given Obama’s basic suspicion of US allies, to the extent he has bowed to pressure to take action in the Middle East, he has always done so to the detriment of US allies.

Obama’s treatment of ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak is case in point.

When the Muslim Brotherhood-backed opposition protests began in late January, Obama was perfectly happy to do nothing despite the US’s overwhelming national interest in preserving Mubarak in power. But when faced with domestic pressure to intervene against Mubarak, he did so with a vengeance.

Not only did Obama force Mubarak to resign. He prevented Mubarak from resigning in September and so ensured that the Brotherhood would dominate the transition period to the new regime.

Obama’s most outspoken opponents in the US foreign policy debate are the neoconservatives.

Like Obama, the neoconservatives are not motivated to act by concern for the US’s core regional interests. What motivates them is their belief that the US must always oppose tyranny.

In some cases, like Iran and Iraq, the neoconservatives’ view was in consonance with US strategic interests and so their policy recommendation of siding with regime opponents against the regimes was rational.

The problem with the neoconservative position is that it makes no distinction between liberal regime opponents and illiberal regime opponents. It can see no difference between pro-US despots and anti-US despots.

If there is noticeable opposition to tyrants, then the US must support that opposition.

This view is what informed the neoconservative bid to oust Mubarak last month and Gaddafi this month.

The fracture between the Obama camp and the neoconservative camp came to a head with Libya. Obama wished to sit on the sidelines and the neoconservatives pushed for intervention.

To an even greater degree than in Egypt, the debate was settled by the third US foreign policy camp – the opportunists. Led today by Clinton, the opportunist camp supports whoever they believe is going to make them most popular with the media and Europe.

In the case of Libya, the opportunist interests dictated military intervention against Gaddafi. Europe opposes Gaddafi because the French and the British bet early on that his opponents were winning. France recognized the opposition as the legitimate government two weeks ago.

Once Gaddafi’s counteroffensive began, France and Britain realized they would be harmed politically and economically if Gaddafi maintained power so they began calling for military strikes to overthrow him.

As for the media, they were quick to romanticize the amorphous “opposition” as freedom fighters.

Seeing the direction of the wind, Clinton jumped on the European-media bandwagon and forced Obama to agree to a military operation whose goal no one can define.

WHAT THE US foreign policy fights regarding Egypt and Libya indicate is that currently, a discussion about how events impact core US regional interests is completely absent from the discussion. Consequently, it should surprise no one that none of the policies the US is implementing in the region advance those core interests in any way. Indeed, they are being severely damaged.

Under Mubarak, Egypt advanced US interests in two main ways. First, by waging war against the Muslim Brotherhood and opposing the rise of Iranian power in the region, Mubarak weakened the regional forces that most threatened US interests. Second, by managing the Suez Canal in conformance with international maritime law, Egypt facilitated the smooth transport of petroleum products to global markets and prevented Iran from operating in the Mediterranean Sea.

Since Mubarak was ousted, the ruling military junta has taken actions that signal that Egypt is no longer interested in behaving in a manner that advances US interests.

Domestically, the junta has embarked on a course that all but guarantees the Muslim Brotherhood’s rise to power in the fall.

Saturday’s referendum on constitutional amendments was a huge victory for the Brotherhood on two counts. First, it cemented Islamic law as the primary source of legislation and so paved the way for the Brotherhood’s transformation of Egypt into an Islamic state. Under Mubarak, that constitutional article meant nothing. Under the Brotherhood, it means everything.

Second, it set the date for parliamentary elections for September. Only the Brotherhood, and remnants of Mubarak’s National Democratic Party will be ready to stand for election so soon. The liberals have no chance of mounting a coherent campaign in just six months.

In anticipation of the Brotherhood’s rise to power, the military has begun realigning Egypt into the Iranian camp. This realignment is seen most openly in Egypt’s new support for Hamas. Mubarak opposed Hamas because it is part of the Brotherhood.

The junta supports it for the same reason. Newly appointed Foreign Minister Nabil el-Araby has already called for the opening of Egypt’s border with Hamas-ruled Gaza.

There can be little doubt Hamas’s massive rocket barrage against Israel on Saturday was the product of its sense that Egypt is now on its side.

As for the Suez Canal, the junta’s behavior so far is a cause for alarm. Binding UN Security Council Resolution 1747 from 2007 bars Iran from shipping arms. Yet last month the junta thumbed its nose at international law and permitted two Iranian naval ships to traverse the canal without being inspected.

According to military sources, one of the ships carried advanced armaments. These were illicitly transferred to the German merchant ship Victoria at Syria’s Latakia port. Last week, IDF naval commandos interdicted the Victoria with its Iranian weaponry en route to Gaza via Alexandria.

Add to that Egypt’s decision to abrogate its contractual obligation to supply Israel with natural gas and we see that the junta is willing to suspend its commitment to international law in order to realign its foreign policy with Iran.

ON EVERY level, a post-Mubarak Egypt threatens the US core interests that Mubarak advanced.

Then there is Libya. One of the most astounding aspects of the US debate on Libya in recent weeks has been the scant attention paid to the nature of the rebels.

The rebels are reportedly represented by the so-called National Transitional Council led by several of Gaddafi’s former ministers.

But while these men – who are themselves competing for the leadership mantle – are the face of the NTC, it is unclear who stands behind them. Only nine of the NTC’s 31 members have been identified.

Unfortunately, available data suggest that the rebels championed as freedom fighters by the neoconservatives, the opportunists, the Europeans and the Western media alike are not exactly liberal democrats. Indeed, the data indicate that Gaddafi’s opponents are more aligned with al-Qaida than with the US.

In 2007 Al-Libi merged his forces into al- Qaida. On March 18, while denouncing the US, France and Britain, Al-Libi called on his forces to overthrow Gaddafi.

A 2007 US Military Academy study of information on al-Qaida forces in Iraq indicate that by far, Eastern Libya made the largest per capita contribution to al-Qaida forces in Iraq.

None of this proves that the US is now assisting an al-Qaida takeover of Libya. But it certainly indicates that the forces being assisted by the US in Libya are probably no more sympathetic to US interests than Gaddafi is. At a minimum, the data indicate the US has no compelling national interest in helping the rebels in overthrow Gaddafi.

The significance of the US’s descent into strategic irrationality bodes ill not just for US allies, but for America itself. Until the US foreign policy community is again able to recognize and work to advance the US’s core interests in the Middle East, America’s policies will threaten both its allies and itself. caroline@carolineglick.com

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UN intervention into Libya an ominous precedent for Israel by Frank Gaffney, Jr. President of the Center for Security Policy March 21, 2011

There are many reasons to be worried about the bridge-leap the Obama Administration has just undertaken in its war with Muammar Gaddafi. How it will all end is just one of them.

Particularly concerning is the prospect that what we might call the Gaddafi Precedent will be used in the not-to-distant future to justify and threaten the use of U.S. military forces against an American ally: Israel.

Here's how such a seemingly impossible scenario might eventuate:

It begins with the Palestinian Authority seeking a UN Security Council resolution that would recognize its unilateral declaration of statehood. Three top female officials in the Obama administration reprise roles they played in the Council's recent action on Libya: U.S. Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice, a vehement critic of Israel, urges that the United States support (or at least not veto) the Palestinians' gambit. She is supported by the senior director for multilateral affairs at the National Security Council, Samantha Power, who in the past argued for landing a "mammoth force" of American troops to protect the Palestinians from Israel. Ditto Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, whose unalloyed sympathy for the Palestinian cause dates back at least to her days as First Lady.

This resolution enjoys the support of the other four veto-wielding Security Council members - Russia, China, Britain and France - as well as the all of the other non-permanent members except India, which joins the United States in abstaining. As a result, it is adopted with overwhelming support from what is known as the "international community."

With a stroke of the UN's collective pen, substantial numbers of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Israeli citizens find themselves on the wrong side of internationally recognized borders. The Palestinian Authority (PA) insists on its longstanding position: The sovereign territory of Palestine must be rid of all Jews.

The Israeli government refuses to evacuate the oft-condemned "settlements" now on Palestinian land, or to remove the IDF personnel, checkpoints and facilities rightly seen as vital to protecting their inhabitants and, for that matter, the Jewish State itself.

Hamas and Fatah bury the hatchet (temporarily), forging a united front and promising democratic elections in the new Palestine. There, as in Gaza (and probably elsewhere in the wake of the so-called "Arab awakening"), the winner will likely be the Muslim Brotherhood, whose Palestinian franchise is Hamas).

The unified Palestinian proto-government then seeks international help to "liberate" their land. As with the Gaddafi Precedent, the first to act is the Arab League. Its members unanimously endorse the use of force to protect the "Palestinian people" and end the occupation of the West Bank by the Israelis.

Turkey (which is still a NATO ally, despite its ever-more-aggressive embrace of Islamism) is joined by Britain and France - two European nations increasingly hostile to Israel - in applauding this initiative in the interest of promoting "peace." They call on the UN Security Council to authorize such steps as might be necessary to enforce the Arab League's bidding.

Once again, Team Obama's leading ladies - Mesdames Clinton, Power and Rice - align to support the "will of the international community." They exemplify, and are prepared to enforce, the President's willingness to subordinate U.S. sovereignty to the dictates of transnationalism and his personal hostility towards Israel. The concerns of Mr. Obama's political advisors about alienating Jewish voters on the eve of the 2012 election are trumped by presidential sympathy for the Palestinian right to a homeland.

Accordingly, hard as it may be to believe given the United States' longstanding role as Israel's principal ally and protector, Mr. Obama acts, in accordance with the Gaddafi Precedent. He warns Israel that it must immediately take steps to dismantle its unwanted presence inside the internationally recognized State of Palestine, lest it face the sort of U.S.-enabled "coalition" military measures now underway in Libya. In this case, they would be aimed at neutralizing IDF forces on the West Bank - and beyond, if necessary - in order to fulfill the "will of the international community."

Of course, such steps would not result in the ostensibly desired end-game, namely "two states living side by side in peace and security." If the current attack on Libya entails the distinct possibility of unintended (or at least unforeseen) consequences, application of the Gaddafi Precedent to Israel seems certain to produce a very different outcome than the two-state "solution": Under present and foreseeable circumstances, it will unleash a new regional war, with possible worldwide repercussions.

At the moment, it seems unlikely that the first application in Libya of the Gaddafi Precedent will have results consistent with U.S. interests. Even if a positive outcome is somehow forthcoming there, should Barack Obama and his anti-Israel troika of female advisors be allowed, based on that precedent, to realize the foregoing hypothetical scenario, they would surely precipitate a new international conflagration, one fraught with truly horrific repercussions - for Israel, for the United States and for freedom-loving people elsewhere.

A Congress that was effectively sidelined by Team Obama in the current crisis had better engage fully, decisively and quickly if it is to head off such a disastrous reprise.

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr. is President of the Center for Security Policy, a columnist for the Washington Times and host of the nationally syndicated program, Secure Freedom Radio, heard in Washington weeknights at 9:00 p.m. on WRC 1260 AM.

Can somebody explain to me why the USA is helping Al Qaeda against Kaddafi {not that he is a Tzaddik}?

Have a great Shabbos and pray for the redemption of Yisrael by the Moshiach,